(14 December 2022)
Mercury is a highly toxic element, which is considered one of the top ten chemicals of major public health concern according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Mercury is controlled through the Minamata Convention, a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury. Through the Minamata Convention Initial Assessments (MIA) and development of National Action Plans (NAP) for Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM), countries are able to understand the key sources of mercury and set priorities.
The ISLANDS Programme aims to reduce global mercury emissions of over 90 metric tonnes through: preventing imports of products containing mercury and the environmentally sound management (ESM) of mercury-containing wastes. To support this effort, this ISLANDS webinar provided SIDS an opportunity to share experiences in completing MIAs and developing NAPs, as well as gaining an understanding of key mercury sources in SIDS.
Please find the webinar recording here:
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Discussion moderated by: Kenneth Davis, Chemicals and Health Branch, UNEP.
Melanie Ashton, CCKM Project Manager, ISLANDS, opened the webinar noting that some SIDS are yet to complete their MIAs under the Minamata Convention. She explained that mercury experts from the Caribbean and Pacific would present in the webinar to share insights from the MIA results so far in specific SIDS, helping to improve understanding of the way forward to reduce and phase out mercury in SIDS.
Michelle Astwood, Ministry of Natural Resources, Guyana, shared his country’s experience completing the MIA and subsequently developing NAP, in which Guyana sets out national objectives in mercury emissions reduction by monitoring and supporting the ASGM sector. This is because the ASGM sector was noted as “more than insignificant” following Guyana’s MIA results in 2016.1 Among the many lessons learned, Astwood highlighted necessity of a strong country-level coordination to streamline the engagement of domestic stakeholders in environment, health and ASGM; better integration of data on the areas that impact Guyanese ASGM such as gold trade and fuel use; and coordination among the various NAP agencies, as well as external ASGM-related projects. In terms of Guyana’s priority areas for action in 2023, the Ministry of Natural Resources plans to continue to collaborate with the national working group comprised of the ASGM industry stakeholders, raise awareness and introduce mercury-free techniques to the mining communities, and boost interagency collaboration to monitor and collect data on mercury import and trade.
Hand-in-hand with the NAP implementation activities, Astwood also mentioned their close working relationship with the Planet GOLD Programme, whose programme in Guyana is named a “supply-chain approach to eliminating mercury in Guyana’s ASGM sector”. She indicated that as the Planet GOLD Guyana works to lead the shift towards the mercury-free ASGM supply chain by directly engaging with business enterprises and providing them a profit motive, such an economic focus complement’s NAP’s environmental and health focus in mercury reduction.
Emele Duituturaga, World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry, Fiji, shared challenges from working for the phase-out of mercury-containing dental amalgam, based on her regional advocacy experience. She explained that Duituturaga and colleagues formed the Pacific Collective to mobilize support to ultimately ban the mercury containing amalgam in the dentist practices in the Pacific, the first challenges was rooted in awareness, as most population in the Pacific were unaware of the issue. Secondly, she highlighted the importance of choosing the right government partners – as Fiji hasn’t ratified the Minamata Convention yet – as well as connecting with a region-wide platform, such as the World Alliance, who collected several success stories from countries such as Mauritius and New Caledonia in partially or completely banning the use of mercury-containing amalgam. Finally, Duituturaga underlined the necessity to strategically communicate with the broader public, using a well-constructed, facts-based messaging to share technical information around the risks of mercury-containing amalgam more effectively.
Linroy Christian, Ministry of Agriculture, Land, Fisheries and Barbuda Affairs, Antigua and Barbuda shared experiences from Antigua and Barbuda’s Specific International Programme to support Capacity Building and Technical Assistance (SIP), which he said is a national project with a regional approach. Prompted by the lack of data specific to the Caribbean region in the Global Mercury Assessment, the Antigua and Barbuda SIP was initiated to address the challenges around mercury data collection pertaining to the Caribbean region and build capacity for mercury monitoring. Christian said a Caribbean regional mercury management network to strengthen regional monitoring was being established, and direct mercury analyzers procured for the testing laboratories that collect mercury-containing product samples across the region. He noted that Antigua and Barbuda conducted a study on human hair, from which it detected more than 50% of the samples required further study based on their mercury concentration, caused by dietary exposure (deep sea fish) and popular of mercury-containing consumer products (skin lightening creams).
Terry Mohammed, University of St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, shared the findings and insights from his research into the mercury-containing skin-lightening products being sold and used in Trinidad and Tobago. While there are no gold-mining activities in Trinidad and Tobago, popular use of mercury-containing skin lightening creams has been recorded in Trinidad and Tobago, as lighter skin is often linked to higher social status and economic mobility. While both men and women use the products, he said they are most commonly used by women. Despite the global regulations on mercury concentration in cosmetic products (EU, Japan: complete ban; USA, Canada, the Philippines: less than 1 ppm) of the 19 samples Mohammed’s team collected and studied, nine were detected with mercury concentration ranging from 1.2ppm to 14,414ppm. Mohammed highlighted the importance of educating the public around the risks of such products, and strengthening of regulatory framework to protect the population.
In the ensuing discussion, Michelle Astwood, outlined the central role of the Ministry of Health in Guyana in their NAP implementation, as they focus on improving the health information and data collection system, determining the prevalence of diseases caused by mercury in the ASGM sector, developing an overarching health surveillance system relating to mercury, and improve institutional capacity of the healthcare system to provide appropriate and timely support to mercury exposure.
Melanie Ashton, ISLANDS closed the webinar by reiterating the various areas of concern to mercury management mentioned during the webinar and how the CCKM project aims to share knowledge and build communities of practice. As part of the effort, she officially launched the Mercury Community of Practice (CoP) and encouraged the speakers and audience to join the CoP and continue the discussion beyond the webinar.
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The Implementing Sustainable Low and Non-Chemical Development in Small Island Developing States (ISLANDS) Programme is a $515-million, five-year initiative backed in part by the Global Environment Facility, which is providing $75 million. It supports 33 small island developing states in four regions – the Atlantic, Caribbean, Indian and Pacific oceans – to reduce and manage hazardous waste and improve chemicals management in their territories. ISLANDS is led by UNEP, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the Inter-American Development Bank.